Head-To-Head Review: Coca-Cola Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) & Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD)

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) and Coca-Cola Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV and Coca-Cola Consolidated, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV	0	6	11	0	2.65
Coca-Cola Consolidated	0	0	1	0	3.00

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV presently has a consensus price target of $91.08, suggesting a potential upside of 14.22%. Given Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is more favorable than Coca-Cola Consolidated.

Profitability

This table compares Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV and Coca-Cola Consolidated’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV	14.90%	16.42%	7.47%
Coca-Cola Consolidated	7.15%	-1,041.59%	13.71%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

5.5% of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.2% of Coca-Cola Consolidated shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Coca-Cola Consolidated shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV and Coca-Cola Consolidated”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV	$59.32 billion	2.71	$6.84 billion	$4.72	16.89
Coca-Cola Consolidated	$7.23 billion	1.74	$570.58 million	$7.54	25.08

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has higher revenue and earnings than Coca-Cola Consolidated. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Coca-Cola Consolidated, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Coca-Cola Consolidated has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV pays an annual dividend of $1.41 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Coca-Cola Consolidated pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV pays out 29.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Coca-Cola Consolidated pays out 13.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Coca-Cola Consolidated has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Summary

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV beats Coca-Cola Consolidated on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV produces, distributes, exports, markets, and sells beer and beverages. It offers a portfolio of approximately 500 beer brands, which primarily include Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois; Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Michelob Ultra; and Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Castle, Castle Lite, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, and Skol brands. The company operates in North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1366 and is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium.

About Coca-Cola Consolidated

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes nonalcoholic beverages primarily products of The Coca-Cola Company in the United States. The company offers sparkling beverages; and still beverages, including energy products, as well as noncarbonated beverages comprising bottled water, ready to drink coffee and tea, enhanced water, juices, and sports drinks. It also sells its products to other Coca-Cola bottlers; and post-mix products that are dispensed through equipment, which mixes the fountain syrups with carbonated or still water enabling fountain retailers to sell finished products to consumers in cups or glasses. In addition, the company manufactures and distributes various other beverage brands that include Dr Pepper and Monster Energy. It sells and distributes its products directly to grocery stores, mass merchandise stores, club stores, convenience stores, and drug stores; and restaurants, schools, amusement parks, and recreational facilities, as well as through vending machine outlets. The company was formerly known as Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated and changed its name to Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. in January 2019. Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.